The growth of multimedia technology has altered the concept of the home entertainment system from a simple television to a collection of multimedia devices. The multimedia devices may include video recorders/players, digital video disk (DVD) players, compact disc (CD) players, audio receivers, and digital or analog video tuners. The collection of multimedia devices provides a home user a variety of options for experiencing various video and audio entertainment programs.
Despite the growth in the number of multimedia devices included in home entertainment systems, most of the devices become centralized to a particular room and include only one display device and/or one set of speakers. Multiple entertainment systems may exist in a single home; however, each entertainment system is generally kept in a separate room. A user generally watches a single multimedia program at a time. It is difficult for a user to watch or listen to two separate sets of audio and/or video content. Multiple multimedia programs running consecutively require a user to split his attention among the multiple multimedia programs. Since a user does not generally desire to watch multiple programs displayed at the same time, multiple display devices are not generally used within a single entertainment system. However, as the number of multimedia resources devices connected to the single display and/or speaker system increases, the chance of generating a multimedia resource conflict increases.
Multimedia resource conflicts occur when an attempt is made to send more than one program to the same multimedia resource, such as the display or the speaker system. For example, a DVD player may currently be presenting a video program through the only available display device at the same time a television tuner is scheduled to provide a separate program through the display. A conflict occurs since the display is unable to handle both requests at the same time. Few solutions have been used to resolve the conflict.
Most conventional systems prompt the user with a warning that a resource conflict has occurred. The user is given an option to cancel one of the presented programs, allowing the user to select the program offered by the television tuner over the DVD program. Alternatively, conventional systems for resolving resource conflicts provide the user with an option to receive both video programs at a degraded quality. For example, the video from the DVD program and the video from the television tuner may be scaled to each occupy a separate portion of a screen on the display device. Alternatively, one video program may be given the majority of the screen and the other video program is scaled to a smaller window.
It becomes difficult for a user to divide attention between the two programs simultaneously, and the proper experience of the video program is lost. In the case of audio programs, the speakers are generally used to only handle a single audio program. While multiple audio programs may be mixed and presented through a single speaker system, the result is generally confusing and it becomes difficult for a user to identify and enjoy a single audio program from the mixed output. From the above discussion, it is apparent that an improved system for handling multimedia resource conflicts is needed.